Great Relief to Former Trump Associate As Court Dismisses $250 Million Tax Case

Felix Sater, a Russia born former close associate of President Donald Trump, now has all the reasons to smile following the dismissal of his case by a Manhattan court. According to Business Insider, the Russian-American’s and Bayrock $250 million tax case was being pursued by whistblower Fred Oberlander on behalf of the state. Being a qui tam case, the application required intervention from the office of the attorney general for it to proceed or succeed.

A lawyer by profession, Fred Oberlander reportedly had previously represented Felix’s former business associate Jody Kriss in a legal pursuit against Bayrock. Business insider hinted out that the case was thwarted after Fred tried to use information that had previously been ruled out by judges during Jody’s case. It is reported that one of the attorneys who attended the Wednesday session revealed that the case could not proceed since Oberlander used a miscalculated approach. It’s after this revelation that Sater’s legal representative, Robert Wolf, confirmed the dismissal.

Intervention from attorney general’s office maybe could have affected the outcome. However, a green light that Oberlander had reportedly confessed during one his press releases was quickly dismissed by Eric Schneiderman’s office. The Attorney General’s office is reported to have written to New York Supreme Court in February 2016 disowning Fred’s claim and affirming their unwillingness to intervene. The office, however, promised to continue monitoring the proceedings going forward.

Robert Wolf has reportedly commended the dismissal arguing it was on the basis of merit and not procedural. Oberlander’s co-lawyer in the case, Richard Lerner, has hinted to explore further legal options in order to appeal the verdict.

In the initial case, Jody Kriss accused the company’s co-founders: Felix and Tevfik Arif for a number of issues including failure to disclose what Jody considered important information while negotiating a business deal with the Trump Organization. Even though Donald Trump argued out his organization from the issue, it’s reported that an individual of anonymous identity disputed the argument claiming the two associated used to have regular standing meetings.

In a deposition, Trump is reported to have confessed that his organization wouldn’t have agreed to the partnership deal had he knew Felix’s background. The current US President claimed that he didn’t know Sater by appearance and would have not been able to identify him even if they were under the same roof. It is has, however, been hinted that the company’s office was once just two floors to that of Donald’s in the Trump Tower.

Bloomberg, one of the popular publications in the region, is cited to have reported a close relationship between Trump and Felix. According to one of their publications, Sater revealed to have met with Donald regularly. The publication is reported to have explained the he valued Felix due his continuous loyalty and important links Sater had in Russia. The President is claimed to have indicated in his 2007 deposition that he couldn’t afford to miss investing in Russia claiming it’s a hotbed for investment globally.